Round Two
by Madd Kougar
Summary: Alex returns to SAS to help out with a batch of hand me down recruits. New characters. Maybe a return of an old friend.
1. Chapter 1

**I really love stories about SAS but I don't like how Wolf and the others are always there _again (_I talking about Alex going back). **

**In this story it's Alex's second time around at SAS but with all new people to work together with or destory.**

**I haven't done a whole lot of POV writing before... I'm trying it out... tell me if you like it.**

* * *

**Alex's POV**

I sighed and glanced around. _"This is not a place I'd ever wished to return to... not in a million years."_ I thought as I glanced in ever direction before my eyes finally settled on the man before me.

"'Ello, kid. I'm told you go by cub around here." He said cruelly, his accent very evident.

I raised my chin in acknowledgment, not bothering to reply or even spare more than a parting glance at the average height man.

"I said 'ello!" The man repeated angrily and shoved me roughly.

"I heard you the first time." I replied quietly as I grabbed his fist and spun him around so I had control over his elbow and was forcing him into an almost bow like position. "I just didn't feel the need to reply. Least of all to you." I finished and shoved the man face down into the dirt.

The man climbed to his feet while turning, his face flaming bright red under his paste while complexion that I knew would soon turn into a tan if you was any good.

I could tell that the man was preparing to do battle so I smiled. Which, looking back, was probably not the best idea I've ever had.

It was just so hilarious to me that some rookie thought he could beat me since I was a few... well okay, about a decade younger than him.

The man was only a few inches taller than my five-nine height and had a skinny little body that I couldn't believe allowed him to train at SAS.

Yes.

You heard me correctly... I'm back at the SAS training camp.

Lucky me.

...

"I'd say, "good to see you back"... but it's not." The thirty-ish short, black sergeant said without making eye contact with me as he shook the hand of my handler.

"I'd say, "good to be back"... but it's not." I replied with a cocky grin as he turned to shake my hand.

"You know the rules about binning. And you know how much I like binning." The sergeant spoke clearly, the man who'd attacked me only half an hour ago, smile savagely; he thought he was going to get pay back from the black eye I'd given him during our second go around. Unfortunately for him, the sergeant had other ideas. "Puppy." He shouted, immediately gaining the other man's attention.

"Sir." My wannabe attacker replied after a moment, not quite to grips with the fact that his "name" was to be puppy. Mostly likely because the only name worse than puppy was kitten, and that was reserved for women.

"Puppy the only reason I'm not binning you is because I think giving you a name like Puppy is punishment enough." The sergeant declared before he and my handler took off. "Oh! Cub, Puppy, your two team mates are waiting for you in hut three!" He called over his shoulder.

I glanced around, eyeing the ten wooden huts trying to find number three. "Huh, they added a hut since the last time I was here." I muttered as I grabbed my bag and slung the strap over my shoulder.

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

I stared after the teenage _boy_ who'd already beaten me in a fight as he grabbed his single bag and headed off towards the ten non-painted huts.

Glancing around as I followed the kid, I quickly took inventory; there was a bigger blue hut that from the open doorway looked like a mess hall. I figure that there was a kitchen attached. There was also a slightly smaller white hut that I figured served as a shower/bathroom. I later found out that there were also a minimal number of cold water sinks in the hut as well.

I had to pick up my pace slightly to catch up to the kid. Maybe he deserved a little respect after all...

* * *

**Alex's POV**

As I entered hut number three with Puppy on my heels I smelled a peculiar sent... almost flowery... definitely feminine.

I frowned, this would be new something new.

"And just do we have here? A boy and his dog?" A very female sounding voice asked from the middle of the room.

Another female voice laughed in response as I walked by.

"I'm Cub. He's Puppy." I replied and jabbed my thumb in Puppy's direction, setting my bags down on the cot farthest from the two the other members of my team were sprawled out upon.

Both women were silent for a moment before bursting out into peels of laughter.

"I was right!" The first women, a tall and leggy blonde said in utter awe of herself.

Puppy, who by now had also settled his stuff on the only remaining bunk which was on the other side of the room from me, blushed profusely. Even his stuck out ears turned bright red as an apple.

I almost laughed when he finally formed words. "Would one of you ladies mind switching bunks with one of us so that-"

The other women, a petite black-hair women, cut Puppy off before he could finish his uncomfortable request. "So that you two gentlemen won't be separated?" She practically cooed.

Puppy blushed even a deeper reds, a color I didn't think possible to attain.

I remained silent, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention off of Puppy and onto my self.

"Sorry, but you're both big boys now." The blonde turned her brown eyes on me. So much for avoiding attention. "And I think you can deal with having beds on opposite sides of the room."

Angry with the tone of her voice I decided to play a card I didn't think Puppy would be able to pull off. "Fine by me, sweetheart. I've go a perfectly good view of you from here." I said ands laid my head back against the pillow, further cushioning it with my hands.

The blonde paled under her tan, the black woman just sneered. before

I smiled. "Mission accomplished." I thought to myself as I closed my eyes, aware that the two women were now whispering to themselves and that Puppy had started unpacking his gear and filling his locker with his belongings rather than following my suit and catching a few moments of rest. After today, I didn't think we'd be getting much down time.

There had been almost a full minute of silence when the black women decided to fill in Puppy and I on her and the blonde's code names. "I'm Zebra and she's Kitten." Her words crisp and professional.

My reaction was probably unwarranted, but I nearly sat up from the force of the laughter spilling out of me. Apparently the sergeant didn't like Kitten any better than he liked me or Puppy. Zebra, on the other hand, I don't think he'd made his mind up about yet.

* * *

**Kitten's POV**

Zebra had leaned forward and started whispering scary things in my ear of the kid, who I guessed was probably not as young as he looked, had shocked me with his statement.

"You know that we're the last batch of SAS this year... and supposedly only one of us is getting in. The other three will get kicked out completely with no second chance."

I drew back and said loudly, "This is my second chance!" I blushed and glanced around the room.

Puppy had stopped what he was doing and was now gazing over his shoulder at me. "This is my second chance two." He said quietly before turning back to finish unpacking his briefs.

I returned my gaze to Zebra. "Not my second chance but it might as well be since so far I've barely go enough points to be eligible to train." She said after a moment.

The three of us turned out eyes on the youngest person in the room, Cub.

He blinked his brown gaze open when he became aware of our scrutiny. "Don't look at me. I've already got a job. This is just to put some more icing on the cake." He said and closed his eyes once more.

I wasn't sure if he was competition to the position I'd wanted my whole life, or not.

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

I frowned when I realized my plan had back fired. I was only trying to rattle the dumb blonde chick, not expose the fact that Puppy was just as bad as bad as her, and I definitely wasn't suppose to let them both know that this Cub person was not what any of us expected. Not that I'd know it either. He was certainly a wild card.

My frown deepened as I examined the young man closely. _"He has to be older than he looks."_ I thought to myself as I ran my eyes up and down his sinewy body. _"There is no way the sergeant would allow a kid in here." _I thought for another moment before coming to a conclusion._ "His code name proves it! He's an adult but his looks like a kid... looks like a cub." _How proud, and how wrong I was for coming to this conclusion.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

The next morning, as expected, we had to jog for twenty miles before being allowed to eat. What was unexpected was the time we had to go for our morning run... it was four o'clock in the morning.

Happy that I'd gotten a nap in the previous afternoon I confidently strode down the train fully decked in combat boots and camouflage. Luckily, at this early stage of our training, we didn't have to cary any weight. AKA backpacks.

Surprisingly, Kitten and I pulled quickly out ahead from Zebra and Puppy.

"I must have gotten faster while I wasn't looking." I joked aloud to myself as the blonde and I remained shoulder to head. My nose was at the same level as her shoulder.

* * *

**Kitten's POV**

I found myself laughing at Cub's joke. Surprised by this, I missed a step.

"Don't fall. It's an automatic bin." Cub cautioned, catching my elbow and effectively steading me.

Before I could thank him he let out a quick burst of speed and shot out in front of me. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to catch up to him. This was amazing since I'd always been a superstar when it came to running what with my long legs and athletic body composition.

Shaking my head in astonishment, I continued to push on. Following the well worn path back to the mess hall where I'd be served breakfast.

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

I was boiling over when I realized that everyone including Cub could run faster than me. I was doing good just to be under five feet behind Puppy.

Kitten, I wasn't surprised by the fact she could run. She look like a runner. Puppy, he was probably more stamina than speed. But Cub, now that one I hadn't expected.

My temper only flared higher when I watched from the vantage point at the top of a hill while they were at the bottom of the next one, as Kitten tripped and Cub caught her arm. _"That would have been an automatic bin and now she's probably going to beat him to the finish!"_ I raged on inside my mind.

Surprising, but not upsetting, Kitten recovered from her stumble but Cub burst out ahead of her. Quickly eating up ground and putting about twenty feet in between them in only a few moments. "I wonder if he can keep that up..." I wondered aloud as I watched for half a second before descending the hill as Kitten started pushing harder to catch up to Cub.

"D'you say something?" Puppy called over his shoulder, careful not to stop because that would have also resulted in a bin.

"No!" I called back cheerfully as I could.

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

The woman behind me had clearly been muttering to herself but not quite loud enough for me to hear so I let it go.

"Let her be crazy. Maybe she'll get kicked out and I'll be the one to go on." I said happily, forcing myself to believe the words since I'd spoken then out loud. I didn't actually believe that I was good enough to continued on to became part of SAS... but I could dream... and do my best to kick everyone else's asses out of my way.

I smiled as I began running just a little faster.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

Speeding ahead of Kitten put me back at the mess hall about eight minutes before her. She arrived out of breath at six fifteen give or take.

Kitten and I then had to wait for Zebra and Puppy to join us before we were allowed to eat.

"You are a team so you eat as a team!" The head cook had declared when Kitten approached him.

I'd already guessed this was the case and had tried explaining to Kitten... but she apparently didn't feel like listening and went to ask anyway.

The worst part was the cook blamed me for her questioning just as much as he blamed her... I'd also guessed this would be the case but decided that I'd rather she didn't listen to me in this case and would from not on obey my every order, than have her obey me in this and then not when it really mattered.

Kitten huffed back over to her seat and slouched down. "How long do you think this will take?" She asked angrily.

"They'll be here before eight." I replied, glancing down and my water proof watch.

"Why?" She asked curiously.

"Because it they're not then they'll be binned." I replied and refused to talk anymore on the subject.

Eventually she gave up and took up my silent treatment.

I smiled and remembered trying to use a similar treatment in this same mess hall not to long ago on Wolf...

...

_"Hey Double O nothing, not letters from your mama?" Wolf sneered when the mail came in and everyone got at least one letter. Everyone, that is, except for me. _

_My jaw tightened but I forced myself to hold my tongue, counting silently to ten worked wonders. "You're better than him." A little voice inside my head whispered, desperately trying to hold on to the cool I would have otherwise shed happily. _

_"Ooh, no biting come back? Someone must be feeling left out." Wolf whispered into my ear cruelly as he passed by waving six letters in front of my face._

_"Don't you got a girl back home, kid?" Fox asked as soon as Wolf had taken his seat. _

_I glanced up and met his questioning eyes._

_That was about when Wolf snorted and muttered loudly to Eagle, "Cub probably doesn't swing towards girls." And snickered. _

_My eyes were still locked with Fox's and I could tell he knew to intervene after what he saw flash through my brown orbs._

_"That's enough, Wolf." Fox said quietly, glancing to Snake for support. _

_Snake's eyes shot back and forth between Fox and Wolf before he shrugged and his eyes returned back to his letters. _

_Wolf took this as a sign that Fox was the only one on my side, and his loyalties still lay mostly under Wolf. "Your own mother won't even write to you!" He declared with a chuckle. _

_Fox's eyes stayed on me, ready to leap up and force me back into my seat if I attacked Wolf._

_Fortunately he didn't half to, I stood up with my bake so stiff it was even straighter than a ramrod. _

_"Guess your father didn't want to writhe you either!" This comment was thrown at me as I was almost out of the mess hall. I would have let this go and left right then but Wolf just had to keep going. "Good for nothing loser they both must be... just like you."_

_I whirled and found Wolf standing right behind me, he'd followed me over to the exit of the large hut. "If you say another word I swear to you I'm going to-" _

_Wolf cut me off, "Going to what kid? You're smaller, stupider, and weaker than I am." He finished with a cocky grin I knew I just had to wipe off of his face._

_Strangely, I never got the chance because right then the sergeant entered the hall and declared, "Parachuting in twenty." And re-exited the mess hall._

_My eyes traveled back to Wolf and I found his smirk gone and a deathly white face plastered in it's place. "You'll be binned if you hesitate... and kicked out if you can't do it." I said quietly and left before he could think of a retort._

_..._

Glancing back at Kitten I smiled, remembering Wolf was hard since I still didn't like the man but at the same time I no longer hated him. After everything else I'd been through in fifteen years I couldn't bring myself to hold such a strong emotion as hatred any longer.

No hate.

No love.

Very little hope.

* * *

**(1) I have no idea if women are allowed to be part of SAS or even if they train with men but for the purposes of my story the do both.**

**(2) I don't know a whole lot about SAS and it's differences for MI6 so I'm sorta' guessing. Anyone who knows more I'd appreciate the filling in.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, apparently women are not allowed to do SAS training in Britain... but, I don't really care. **

**Let's just pretend a law was recently passed allowing them to train. **

**Got it? **

**Good. **

**Let us continued on with the story... by "us" I mean me. **

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

I finally managed to drag myself into the mess hall some time before eight. Everyone was waiting on me including the sergeant.

"That was fine for today all of you. Tomorrow you will run the same path with the same equipments. I want you back here before seven thirty though." The sergeant was staring directly at me. I glanced up at the clock, it was around seven forty. "Eat and then go back to sleep until lunch." The sergeant declared.

Cub frowned.

"What?" Puppy asked.

"They're breaking you in easy." Cub answered before standing to get a tray full of eggs and pancakes without butter or syrup.

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

I watched Cub as we ate, thinking about what he'd said, "Breaking _you_ in easy." Not _us _him too, but _you_ us in Zebra, Kitten, and I only.

"It must be because he was here before." I muttered to myself as I got up and discarded my tray leaving the mess for my not so comfortable bunk back in the hut.

I walked slowly, more meandering than anything when out from one of the empty huts came several men dress in black.

I opened my mouth to yelp but was unable to since one of the men muffled my lips with a rag.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

"Something's wrong." I declared when Kitten prepared to leave the hall.

"What do you mean by wrong?" Zebra asked as Kitten turned back around and took a step back towards us.

"That's what I mean by wrong." I said and spilled the remaining food off my tray as a hand reached out and tried to drag Kitten outside. Fully in attack mode I rushed towards the struggling woman and slammed the tray in the vicinity of his face since he was wearing a full head covering helmet.

The man obviously hadn't been expecting any resistance for he immediately dropped Kitten's arm and turned to attack me.

Before he could I sent a booted heel into his gut and when his head jerked back with surprise Kitten slammed her elbow into the man's neck.

The man immediately collapsed and Zebra went to remove his helmet so we could see his face.

"No time. We have to find Puppy and we have to stick together." I said and grabbed the cart with all the clean trays on them. "We'll use this for cover and it anyone attacks-"

"Use the tray's as weapons." Zebra and Kitten said at the same time.

"Right." I replied as the two women were staring at each other in astonishment. "Let's go. Remember, use the cart as cover." And we were out the door.

There were was no one in sight, but I hadn't thought there would be. After all, this was mostly likely a training exercise meant to judge the skill of the trainees.

I remembered doing something similar with the K-unit...

...

_I heard a sound coming from the foot of my bed and opened my eyes. Standing above me was a man with his face shielded dressed in completely black. I opened my mouth to shout but before I could the man slammed a hand over my lips._

_Not letting this deter me I asked out with my feet sending the man flying and landing on top of Snake's bed._

_Snake snorted and rolled over. Apparently it took more than two hundred pounds of muscle landing on top of him to wake him up._

_Fortunately my mouth was now free and I could get help from someone else. "Intruder!" I shouted and Fox sat bolt upright, coming face to face with the man who had rolled and was now on his knees beside Snake's bed. _

_Fox shot out of bed just in time as the man made a grab for his feet. _

_By this time Eagle and Wolf had made it across the hut and the four of us surrounded the man who was still kneeling. _

_The man glanced around desperately before aiming what looked like a gun at me._

_"Pop! Pop!" The gun went off and I expected to feel something._

_Instead I realized that Snake had finally woken up and sent the man's gun flying across the room. _

_"Why the hell is some crazy interfering with my sleep!" Snake demanded in a Scottish accent as Eagle snuck around behind him and pulled off his helmet. _

_The man was smiling at me. "Good job, Cub. You didn't a hell of a lot better than was expected of you." The man said and right then the sergeant entered. _

_"Come on now, Raccoon. Let's let these boys back to sleep." _

_Stunned we watched the two men leave, chatting and laughing as they went. _

_Snake's fair hair glowed in the moon light as he crossed the hut to stand by the door. "All be damned." He whispered loudly without a hint of anger. _

_..._

Kitten, Zebra, and I made it back to our hut only to find it empty.

"Here." Zebra said, reaching out to grab a note stuck to the wall with a knife.

"What's it say?" Kitten asked as Zebra examined it front and back.

"That Puppy is being held somewhere in the assault course and we have exactly four hours to recover him." Zebra said and tucked the note into one of the pockets on the inside of her camouflage jacket.

* * *

**Kitten's POV**

Watching Cub in action was like watching an expert do what they do best... in whatever they do best...

He was amazing! Awesome! Super powerful and insanely conservative in what he allowed us to bring.

"No." He muttered as I went for my backpack.

"What if we need to carry something?" I asked, all the books I'd ever read on hostage rescue said you should always have a thing to carry anything you might find that you want to bring back with you.

"If we find anything bigger than what we can stuff in our pockets then we abandon it of destroy it." Cub replied as if it were common sense.

"Okay then." Zebra muttered, observing Cub carefully eating up each and every one of his movements like a starving man eats grommet food.

"This is so stupid." I whispered quietly enough neither of them should have been able to hear me.

Unfortunately for me, Cub's name should have been Bat because he heard my muttered rebellion and leaned in to murmured in my ear, "It's only stupid to those who want to get themselves and their team mates killed."

I visibly paled and lurched away from the Cub.

Chuckling he tugged a cap over his springy blond curls and headed for the door.

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

Cub flung open the door and waved his hat around while he stayed hidden behind the wall on the left side of the door frame. Whatever he'd been expecting hadn't happened hand he waved us forward.

"Always use a decoy to check before you head out into the open." Cub mumbled loud enough for Kitten and me to hear him.

Kitten opened her mouth, probably to ask some sort of stupid question but apparently Cub had enough brains to answer before she asked. "If you're under pressure and you don't have time to set up a decoy then begin to pray to whatever superior being you believe in because you have a five in six shot of being shot." Kitten closed her mouth and we continued to dash from hut to hut in broad daylight, slowly making our way towards the assault course.

"Do you think this will work?" I asked, not feeling as confident as I had when I'd first decided to follow Cub's lead.

"If it doesn't then somethings really wrong." Cub replied almost cryptically.

"What do you mean?" Kitten asked, it was the first time I'd heard her ask something I actually wanted to hear the answer to.

Cub stopped and turned his head to look us each in the eyes, first me then Kitten. "If this doesn't work then it means somethings wrong with my process and if something were wrong with my process then I would have been killed a long time ago." And with that Cub's brown eyes returned to the invisible trail leading to the assault course than only he could follow since he was the only one who'd ever been there.

Watching Cub was like watching a professional at their best. I wasn't sure if it was possible for him to make a mistake. And if he did make one, even a minor one, I was positive that Kitten and I would be doomed.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

It took a half and hour to reach the assault course. You might not believe me, but it actually would have taken less time if I'd had to pull this off at night. Why? Because it is much easier to sneak and creep around in the dark than it is in full sun shine.

Once reaching the start of the difficult course I knew things would get easier at the same time they got worse. For starters, the course would offer much more cover from any attack that might be launched at us... at the same time I wasn't all that sure of the physical capabilities these women possessed.

Would they even be able to maneuver themselves far enough into the course to get Puppy?

Would Zebra and Kitten even be any help getting Puppy back out? This was actually the bigger question since I didn't think I could manage this task all on my own. At least not when his life nor mine hung in the balance.

"Come on. We stay together, for now. If I feel one of you is holding us back we drop you." I make clear eye contact with each young woman before I launched myself onto the steep ladder surrounded by tangled ropes than made climbing much harder but not impossible.

To my relieve Zebra nearly beat me and Kitten was only moments behind.

Sitting on top of the ladder I called, "Good. It only gets harder."

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

"Good God he's wonder boy!" The man who had grabbed me was watching a screen with Cub, Zebra, and Kitten. He seemed almost transfixed by what he saw.

I'll be the first one to admit that Cub is good.... so good than I didn't stand a chance against him if he were to ever become my enemy. "I'm sure glad he's on my side." I muttered angrily when the man turned.

"I know the feeling." The man said with a good hearted laugh muffled slightly by the helmet he was wearing, effectively blocking his face and eyes from my quizzical gaze. "That's your talent, isn't it?" He asked when he stopped laughing and noticed my gaze.

"What is?" I asked as innocently as a rage filled man with heavily bruised pride could.

"Reading people based solely off of their facial features and eye expressions?" The man added some detail.

I snorted at the funny expression of eye expressions but didn't reply even after his Scottish accented voice spat taunts in my direction.

* * *

**Back to the whole women not being allowed to train in SAS... I guess it doesn't surprise me all that much since the last time I checked women aren't allowed to be Navy SEALs either. **

**I actually don't know the reasons for either of these restrictions but whatever I guess, it must be working or the people of the twenty-first century would be throwing a fit right?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I haven't updated.**

**First I was studying for finals and after than I just got to caught up with my other stories to remember to write about this plot line.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

"Here he comes!" Scottish voiced muttered as he tightened the ropes around my ankles one last time before fleeing the room.

I would have like to reply but the bastard had duct taped my mouth a few minutes ago.

"Puppy!" Cub called from the room over.

"Mhphhpm!" The noise I made sounded like a deranged zebra-cow that was being chased by a lion and tipped over by bored idiotic teenagers.

"Puppy?" Cub asked as he stuck his head into the room; as soon as he realized the room was clear the rest of Cub's body followed his head in.

"Man am I good to see you!" I exclaimed as Cub tore off the duct tape none to carefully. "I got dragged here, told this was some sort of exercise, and then tied up!" I exclaimed as Cub slashed the tape off my wrists and the ropes off my ankles.

"Uhuh." Cub mumbled like he wasn't really listening to me jabber on.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked after a second, realized it was just the two of us.

"I left them outside to defend our position." Cub replied.

I read his expression, it was difficult because he didn't have a whole lot of movement in his stone cold face. "Meaning you wanted to leave them outside so they couldn't screw anything up." I said and followed Cub outside.

"That's not what I said." Cub replied without much effort.

"I know." I murmured, heart broken that an agent as good as Cub didn't think there was hope for Kitten or Zebra... both of whom I was sure were better candidates for the only remaining position.

"Hurry, up." Cub mumbled as he jogged quickly out of the building complex only to find Kitten and Zebra fighting for their lives as we reach daylight.

Cub appeared to not even think as he dove for the person attacking Zebra, knocking he man unconscious with his elbow before landing a kick to the back of another man's unprotected knee causing the man to crumple to the ground.

"Retreat! Leave no one behind." Cub shouted and dragged Kitten to her feet before shoving her back into the assault course.

* * *

**Kitten's POV**

Cub shoved me towards the assault course and I quickly scaled the wall and waited for Zebra who I'd seen right behind me. As soon as she was over we continued on, figuring that Puppy and Cub would be alright without us.

"This isn't so bad." I called as I swan across a gap on a rope.

"What!" Zebra shouted at me as she followed across on her own rope.

I answered just as Cub and Puppy appeared over the wall followed by a single man in a black helmet. I watched Cub place his booted foot in the center of the helmet and shove with all his leg power. Puppy, who'd already made it over the wall and down, watched as the man tumbled to the other side and then as Cub jumped down instead of doing the safe thing and climbing.

"What isn't so bad?" Zebra asked this time.

"Doing the assault course backwards." I muttered as I watched Puppy stare in wonder at Cub as the younger man once again took the lead. _If I'd been that close to Cub I'd probably be doing some wonder staring of my own._ I thought to myself as I followed Zebra through the mud under a barbed wire net.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

"From now one everywhere you go you go with a single partner or with the whole group. Got that?" I asked as soon as we were back in our hut.

One by one all three of my new unit nodded; Puppy wouldn't meet my eye, Kitten was staring at me in new found awe, and Zebra was watching my every move as it some how my greatness would rub off on her if she just looked harm enough.

"Good. Shower and meet back at the mess hall for lunch. Puppy!" I called as I grabbed my shower kit with a change of clothes and left the hut with the older man on my heels.

Puppy and I had made it all the way to the showers before he spoke. "Thanks, for coming to get me." He said.

"Don't thank me, we're a team. If you '_die_' out here then the team fails. I. Don't. Fail." Said stoutly and stepped into the tiny space between the shower and the rest of the men's locker room.

"Okay then." Puppy muttered angrily.

I knew that if I pushed the man too hard he'd come to hate me... then again I wasn't here to be his friend I was here to make sure that at least one of the three would get good enough to advance on to the next level of training.

Right now I wasn't sure if any of them were even close to improving let alone improving enough to not get themselves killed if they did advance.

It was a real dilemma and not one that I was going to let hinder me in my mission. After all, I was here to get a little bit more training too...

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

Kitten and I left the hut a few minutes after the men. We would have left sooner but Kitten couldn't find her comb and when I told her she could use my hair brush she looked at me like I was crazy and informed me that, quote, "Hair brushes damage wet hair. Everyone knows that!" unquote.

"Fine! I muttered and made a move to head off towards the showers on my own. I was halfway to the door when I remembered Cub's orders. Sighing I sat down on Puppy's bed and waited for Kitten to rummage around just a little bit longer.

"'Kay! I'm ready." She exclaimed and pranced past me and out of the hut.

My hands formed fists and I ground my teeth together as I followed the blonde chit to my much needed shower.

* * *

**Cub's POV**

Exactly three days of training later I roused the unit and led them on a five mile morning run, it was the first time we'd been out since the twenty mile run a few days back. We stayed in single file formation and alternated leaders so that each person could go as slow or as fast as they needed.

I stared them off at a steady pace, slowly increasing that pace until Puppy decided he'd had enough and jogged in front of me, slowing us down.

A little while later Kitten jogged to the front and sped us back up.

Not long after than Puppy was back up front slowing us down.

Just as Kitten was about to once again take the lead I gave up and took up leadership, slowing us down and then back up at frequent intervals so that both Puppy and Kitten were happy.

We finished the five mile stretch like this. Only problem was the Zebra had never taking the lead... I'd have to talk to her about that.

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

We headed into the mess hall together and sat down to eat breakfast. It was when I got up to dump my dray that Cub cornered me.

"Why didn't you ever take the lead on the run this morning?" He asked, his dark eyes catching mine and holding me in place.

"I, I..." I couldn't meet his eye any longer and dropped my gaze.

"Zebra, you're the best of the three." My eyes shot back up. "But you won't improve unless you relax a little and let go your fear of failing." Cub finished and walked away, leaving me at the drag cleaning station as if he hadn't said anything of great importance.

"Wow." I muttered and let out the breathe I'd unconsciously been holding in.

* * *

**Snake's POV**

"He's doing amazing. Don't you agree? He's a true leader." I muttered as I watched the screen standing next to the Sergeant.

"Yes, that he is. That's why I requested him." The other man replied, turning away from the screen.

"Really? You requested him? I thought he was sent here for more training..." I said as I also turned away from the screen.

"No. He's training is complete. There isn't anything more we could throw at him. He's here to make sure that one of these idiots get good enough to advance on." The Sergeant said as he lit his cigarette and took a long drag. "Ahh, want one?" He asked and offered me a short white stick from a half empty box.


	4. Chapter 4

**Only one chapter after this chapter.**

**I'll try to update it sooner rather than later so that you can finally figure out the ending. **

* * *

**Snake's POV**

I watched, over the weeks, as Cub continued to perfect his skills and as Puppy, Kitten, and Zebra slowly improved as well.

"Do you really think that any of them will pass?" I asked the sergeant as I studied the footage of their assault course times and then looked at their gunman ship marks.

The sergeant shrugged. "Zebra was the best coming in but she doesn't ever seem to improve that much as where Puppy had lower marks coming in but now easily out does her on many things." The man said through puffs of smoke. "Kitten, on the other hand, the only reason she's even here is because her daddy has big connections and can easily pull strings." The sergeant said disgustedly as he dropped his cigaret and ground the bud into the dirt with the toe of his boot.

I nodded my agreement.

"Cub, on the other hand, as much as I hate how young he was the first time they sent him to me... I would kill for him to be one of my men. The lad is bloody brilliant!" The sergeant declared as he lit up another cigaret and turned away. "Too bad he's with MI6... I could use a dozen of him..."

My gaze remained fixed on the imaged of Cub shooting a gun with one hundred percent accuracy beating even the best recorded time. "He sure is handy with a gun."

"That he is!" The sergeant exclaimed wistfully, he'd either not hear of just didn't care to hear the sadness in my voice as I talked about Cub.

"Do you know how old he really is?" I asked, turning to face the sergeant.

The man shrugged. "I'm guessing nineteen. My bet is that he was seventeen when he first got sent to me and MI6 figured out that he was too young and waited until now to sent him back."

I nodded again, this time it wasn't in agreement though.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

The final day of testing was fast approaching and I feared for Puppy the most.

I wasn't really sure why I felt this way, because Zebra was the most likely candidate to get the final spot... and Kitten had the biggest connections... but Puppy, in my mind he was the best for the position. It wasn't that he was the best, that was Zebra. It wasn't that he was the fastest to show improvement, that was Kitten.

But Puppy showed the most willingness to learn and the highest level of compentences. Actually, as where Kitten could advance up skill levels like a child could advance in an easy video game, Puppy actually had the most potential to grow and be the best of the three... it might just take longer.

Sighing, my gaze swept across the room and I found Puppy already snoring, Kitten brushing her hair, and Zebra staring at me in fascination.

Zebra annoyed me, really. The woman wanted to be the best but she was never going to get there if she continued to watch and copy my every move.

Sighing again, this time in frustration, I threw off my shoes and slipped under the sheets and turned me back on all three of my current unit.

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

It was our final day for the assault course and whatever scores we got here would be our final ones.

Before getting to the finish line an instructor had given up very clear instruction, "It is all for one today. You don't have to help out your unit." Before lining us up at the starting line and blowing a whistle.

I watched as Cub took off easily, jogging just behind Puppy, Kitten, and I.

Gritting my teeth, I burst out ahead and was speeding over ladders and up ropes. It wasn't until I reached the part of the course that you have to dig a hole and slip through that I began to slow down, aware that Puppy had slipped out ahead of me and Kitten was right behind me.

After a few seconds of digging my hole just on the other side of Puppy's I watched as Kitten slid her skinny little butt through her shallow hole. I renewed my effort and began digging all the more fiercely.

"Take more time to clear the sand out of the way before scooping more out." Cub murmured as I realized he'd been standing beside me for quite some time.

Nodding, I shifted my knees in the tightly packed sand and cleared away the sand rather than scooping for a moment or two.

"Good. Now go back to scooping and you should be able to get through." Cub said with an encouraging smile before crossing the sand pit to where Puppy's hole was and slithered through.

"God damn cheater." I grumbled as I pulled myself through my own hole moments later.

"Great, now get over that wall!" Cub cheered as I scrambled out of the hole and saw the last challenge of the course, a thirty five foot smooth wooden wall.

Gulping I ran until I stood at the bottom of the wall; Puppy and Kitten, who'd arrived a long time before, were both still standing there. They too were clearly not sure how to get over the '_beast_' as it was called.

We had all gotten over the wall before, of course, but we'd used team work... what were we suppose to do today?

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

I stared up at the '_beast_' and tried to figure out a way over... coming up with only one idea... the same one Cub had taught us our first time through this course.

_Cub had studied the three of us for a long moment before focusing on me. "We have to get you up there."_

_"Why me?" I'd immediately asked. "I'm the heaviest but I bet you're stronger than me! Why don't we boost you up there." I'd argued. _

_Cub had cocked an eyebrow but when neither Zebra nor Kitten had argued he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. _

_"No... this is what we'll do." And not long later Cub stood on my shoulders with Zebra sitting on his. "Okay now, Zebra, I nee you to stand and get yourself on top of this wall." Cub had commanded. "Now!" He'd added when Zebra had just looked at him like he was crazy. _

_I bit back a grunt as the woman stood slowly and leaned against the wall, her movements caused the grinding of Cub's boots deeper into my shoulders. _

_"'kay, this will only work if you stay on top of the wall, its really thin and you'll want to fall down but you've got to stay." Cub had talked Zebra through until she was holding onto the edge of wall and pulling herself up. _

_I felt her weight lift and heard her loud curses before glancing up to see that she was straddling the wall and staring down at Cub. _

_"What now?" She and I asked at the exact same moment. _

_"Not Kitten will get up here." And he'd jumped down off of my shoulders. _

_Sighing I watched as Kitten quickly clambered up onto Cub's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Next I squatted and Cub had set his knees upon my shoulders and I rose into the air. _

_"This isn't too bad." Kitten had muttered as Cub slowly stood and she shimmied her way to stand on his shoulders. _

_"Maybe not for you!" I'd exclaimed and laughed as her weight lifted off my shoulders. _

_"Careful, both of you have to stay up there!" Cub had yell just before Kitten could slip down the wall safely to the other side. _

_"Okay, what now?" Kitten had asked when both she and Zebra were straddling the wall. _

_"Kitten, do this very, very, very slowly. Slid around and put your stomach on the wall." Kitten moved to lend lend Cub her hands. "No! Other way. Have your feet down here and hold on to the wall with your hands." Kitten had sighed and spun the other direction. "Zebra, you hold on to Kitten like your life depends upon it." Cub had ordered. _

_Zebra nodded. _

_"Okay, I'm coming up." Cub had declared and basically used Kitten as a rope before he was straddling the wall. "Whew," He'd let out a breath of air. "Okay, now for the hard part." I heard him mutter. _

_"What! This is the hard part! Me! What do you call getting them up there!" I shriek. _

_"The easy part." Cub had replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Okay... Kitten get back up here!" He grumbled when he realized Kitten still clung to the wall with her arms. _

_Moments later I found myself standing on the ground staring up at Cub, Zebra, and Kitten straddled the wall. _

_"What's your brilliant plan now!" I'd exclaimed angrily. _

_"This!" Cub had shouted back and whispered something to Kitten and Zebra. Both women nodded and I watched as Cub slowly stretched out much like Kitten had, only it was his hands facing me. Each woman was holding onto on of his boots. "Okay, grab my hands and hold still. If you so much as move I'll drop you."_

_I nodded and grabbed Cub's outstretched hands, having to jump a little ways to reach. _

_Cub grunted and waited until Kitten and Zebra pulled his knees up over the wall._

_"Good, go." Cub had said and both woman let got of his ankles, safety on the other side of the wall. _

_I watched fearfully as Kitten lowered herself out of sight and then Zebra. Little did I know that they were now holding onto Cub's legs, acting as weights. _

_"Here we go!" Cub had shouted gleefully as I slip up and over the wall before landing on the other side only ten feet down or so. I looked around, Cub had rolled out of my way just in time and I was now he only person laying on the mat. _

_"Good job. You've competed this assault course." An instructor commented._

_"What do you mean 'this one'?" I asked suspiciously. _

_"It changes every year." Cub had answered before the instructor could. _

Anyway, back to the present.

"How are we suppose to do this alone?" I asked myself. "We're not," I answered after a moment. "Are we?" I asked, turning to Cub.

The young man grinned. "Nope."

Minutes later, we were all over the '_beast_'.


	5. Chapter 5

**Final Chapter!**

* * *

**Alex's POV**

It was time for the final challenge... one that I'd drawn out of a 'hat' because I'd been nominated team leader.

"You're sure you want _me_, to do this?" I asked around, meeting Kitten's, Zebra's, and finally Puppy's eyes.

"Yes." The answer was unanimous.

"I've got horrible luck..." I tried, I really didn't want to be the final key in two of their demises.

Kitten scoffed. "Right, and I'm Queen of England!"

"Just drawn the damn challenge!" Zebra exclaimed as Puppy wrung out his hands.

"Fine!" I tossed my hands in the air in defeat. "But I guarantee you'll all regret this..." I muttered loudly as I reach into the helmet that the sergeant help between his hands.

"As long as it isn't linguistics I'm fine with whatever." Puppy said as I pulled out a card and held it out of view.

"Why linguistics?" I asked just before I glanced down.

"Because my French sucks." The man answered.

"Ahh," I trailed off as I read the card. "You know that as long as you're proficient that linguistics isn't all that important..."

Puppy saw right through my 'soften the blow' techniques. "You drew linguistics, didn't you?" He asked, his shoulders and tone already betraying his defeat.

I sighed and crumpled the paper. "Yeah... look, I'm sorry... but I did tell you that I was bad luck, didn't I?" I tried to joke.

"Linguistics!" Kitten exclaimed.

I shook my head, the entire team knew that she could speak French, Swedish, and Finish fluently, along with a proficiency in Portuguese.

"That's not too bad." Zebra muttered as she left the room, thinking only of herself. She could speak German fluently along with near fluency in Arabic.

"Do you think I have a chance?" Puppy asked me as soon as the two women were gone.

"Honestly?" I asked. The man nodded an I decided to not answer his question anyways. "You're my favorite for the job." And with those words I dashed out before Puppy could realize that I hadn't really answered his question.

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

"I'm doomed." I muttered to myself, swiping a hand through my hair. "Dammit!" I shouted and heaved my chair across the room. "I really wanted this..." I whispered and forced myself not to break down. "I really wanted this..."

I collapsed against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor in the corner farthest from the door. "I deserve it, I earned it!" I exclaimed angrily. "I'm the best!"

Running another hand against my buzz cut I had to struggle against tears. "And I'm not going to get it..."

My shoulders drooped and my face fell as I realized the truth of my words. "It's all over... Kitten's going to get the job because she has 'daddy connections'!" I realized out loud, the silly woman was constantly bragging about her father's friends.

"And Zebra is doing better than me too!" I ragged. "And she's not even good!" This made me realized something. "If she's not good and still better than me... where does that leave me?" I asked, horror now written upon my face.

"Don't." I voice said softly from across the room.

I glanced up, startled. The fair haired man that had tied my up was sitting upon one of the tables in the room. "Don't what?" I asked angrily.

"Don't start doubting yourself. Cub said it, you're his favorite pick. That means a lot and he wouldn't have said if he doesn't mean it." The man replied as he stared down at me.

"Really?" I asked anxiously, maybe my dreams weren't completely crushed after all.

"Why don't you answer that one for yourself." The man answered after a long pause.

Confusion clouded my face as I glanced down, when I looked back up the man was gone.

* * *

**Kitten's POV**

"Pouvez-vous me montrer le chemin vers le restaurant avec le signe rouge et or?

"Kan du visa mig vägen till restaurangen med rött och guld tecken?

"Voitko näyttää tietä ravintola punainen ja kulta merkki?" I asked about the red and gold signed restaurant in three different languages before struggling to ask about it in Portuguese.

"Você pode me mostrar a maneira restaurante sem sinal vermelho e dourado?" I messed up and forgot how to say the word 'the' in Portuguese and using without instead of with.

"Good job, you're very good... for the most part. Send the next woman in." The sergeant declared after a moment.

I nodded, relieved that it was over.

* * *

**Zebra's POV**

"Was ist in dieser Suppe? Es ist Knoblauch?" I asked in German and then again in Arabic. "ما هو في هذا الحساء؟ هو الثوم؟"

"Well done. You were perfect... even though you only know two languages." The sergeant said crisply. "Send Puppy in."

"For the record, sir," I started, not knowing if I would regret the boldness or not. "I can speak three languages... the last time I check English counts." I fled the room before I could be binned.

* * *

** Puppy's POV**

I entered the room and sat down slowly.

"How many languages can you speak and how well can you speak them?" The sergeant asked shortly.

"One, fluently, sir." I informed my commanding officer.

"I was just informed by another member of your unit that English counts as one language... so you can speak two fluently then?" The man asked.

"No, sir. I was answering with the knowledge that English counted as a language. I can still only speak one language, fluently, sir." I replied, my defeat evident in my voice.

"Oh..." I honestly think I had taken the sergeant by surprise. "Dismissed. Send Cub in, would you?"

I nodded as I stood and left the room, my tail between my legs.

* * *

**Snake's POV**

"Kitten is moving on." The sergeant told the young man.

"You do know that that's a big mistake, don't you?" He asked without emotion.

"Yes." The sergeant answered with a sigh, rubbing his left temple.

"Oh! Just checking." Cub shouted and exited the room, fuming. "Her death is on your hands!" He called over his shoulder.

"I will be." The sergeant muttered as he stuffed the end of a cigarette into his mouth.

"No," I said. "It's all the higher ups that have ignored who she is and only been looking at who she _is_." I muttered. "A worthless daughter of an important man."

"I only wish it were that easy... or that I felt the same way as you apparently do." The sergeant sighed again as he sighed the papers.

"I'll inform the, damn, the don't even have a unit name!" I exclaimed. "Do they?" I asked, just to make sure.

"No. This was a test run to see which of them would get into a real unit." The man answered honestly.

"In other words, they weren't good enough and they didn't mean enough to assign a name to..." I said disgustedly.

"Yes." The sergeant said as he nodded.

I marched into the hut to give the bad news.

Kitten was exuberant; Zebra was crushed; Puppy was upset but not surprised; and Cub... he was disgusted. Possibly even more that I was.

"Will I ever see you again? Will any of us see you ever again?" Kitten asked Cub as he began stuffing his belongings into his bag.

I paused just outside the doorway upon hearing the question; I found that I wanted to know his answer.

"No. None of you will." I nodded slightly and took a step way. "That goes for you too, Snake." I smirked sadly, knowing it was true.

* * *

**Puppy's POV**

"If I'm never going to see you again then I think that it's only fair to say, thank you, Cub." I stared into the other man's eyes. "We got off on the wrong foot, from day one, but you were a good friend to me despite it all." I finished.

"Don't give up hope, Puppy." Cub said.

"David." Upon Cub's started look I added. "My name is David Clarkson."

Cub looked my straight in the eye. "You'll be okay, David. You'll do just fine." And with those final words Cub turned and walked away.

I never saw him again, not that I needed to. He was forever etched into my memory as the man the was my hero. The man that, in the end, helped me pack my bags and fulfill my dreams. Maybe they were slightly different that the ones I'd picture as a child... but I still did what made my happy.

* * *

**Epilogue**

_Kitten_ was killed three months after joining the ranks of SAS, a mistake like her was never allowed to happen again.

_Zebra_ went into the private security business and became quite successful; in fact, she ended up marrying one of the rich men she was hired to protect. By the age of thirty she was happy and a mother of more than one child.

_Puppy_? He left Europe and went to America where he was immediately recruited into the Rangers where his skills were put to use. David Clarkson spent the next several decades fighting for a country he didn't belong to right up until he turned forty-two... and got married to a sweet New Jersey girl. He spent the next few decades of his life chasing after his toddlers and then chasing boys away from his teenager girls.

And _Alex_? Well you'll just have to read his next adventure to find out what happened to him.

**The End**

* * *

**For the record this was Kitten's linguistic thing she had to ask: Can you show me the way to the restaurant with the red and gold sign?**

**This was Zebra's: What is in this soup? It is garlic?**


End file.
